Remember that old saying about animals sensing when something is not quite right? I know my little Tzu clue into my emotions every day and somehow, always try to make me feel better when I’m down. It’s too bad we adults don’t seem to have a similar sense when relating to our animals.

My case in point happened the day I was frantically trying to close the up-north cottage and move us all back to the “big city” for the beginning of a new school year. My heart really never wants to leave, but I was determined not to make a “thing” of it this year. I busily hurried from one chore to another in my attempt to get everything ready.

Somehow, though, those silly Tzu had another idea. They kept asking to go out. First one, and then, another did their little prance toward the door.

Okay! Okay! Today is not the day for accidents. So, we kept going out over and over again. Once outside, they just ran, played, and lay in the grass. No big emergency. Too busy for this nonsense, I called them back into the house.

A short time later, the same thing happened again, and again, and again. What in the world was the matter with these kids?
Obviously, no one had to go. Finally, little Aerial put her body down in the grass at the top of our bluff, looked at the lake and would not move. No amount of coaxing could entice her. Her gaze toward the lake was intense and longing.

As I stood watching, all the girls joined her at the top of the hill. What could I do but join them, too? We all sat in the grass looking at the lake, each collecting our memories and hoping they would last throughout the year until we could return to our beloved home in Traverse City.

They looked at me as if to say, “But, Mama, we don’t really want to go back to school. It’s much nicer here with you at home in our own house with a yard to play in.”

These little dogs silently verbalized the feelings locked in my heart. They made me stop, feel the breeze from the water, smell the freshness of the air, look at the new garden my friends helped me to create and take time from the frenzy to appreciate the beauty in front or me.

They also made me realize that our animals need a little of that same kind of time. Time to make the transitions our busy lives inflict on them. Time to be appreciated as the living beings that share our homes and lives, requiring so little of us in return. They are so special with their unconditional love, so giving and FORgiving.

I took time that day and then, they were ready to get in the RV and go. “Just don’t leave us behind, please. We want to be with you wherever you are.” That’s all our animals want anyway; to be with us, to love us, to make us laugh.

If we give in to the pressures of the world and never “stop to smell the roses,” we might just be missing some moments in life never to be reclaimed. This incident was one of those reminders. I took time with my babes that day, and do you know what? Everything got finished anyway. I didn’t regret their interruption after all. Try it. You might like it, too.